Top 5 Health News of the Week : 15th – 20th March 2010
‘So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.’ This thought by A. J. Reb Materi could not be more accurate and true to point. With work schedules becoming insanely hectic, we are more than happy to work that way, provided we are well compensated. But we forget that it is our good health that is enabling us to work so hard. So we assume our readers are taking good care of their health. To provide their daily dose of health news, we are back to present our top 5 health news of the week.
The week kick started with news regarding heart problems. A Henry Ford Hospital study claims that the presence of plaque on an abdominal CT scan is believed to be a potent predictor of coronary artery disease and mortality. Experts found that patients are roughly 60 percent at danger of developing coronary artery disease when the CT scan appears to exhibit exceedingly higher levels of abdominal aortic calcium, generally called plaque. High levels of the abdominal aortic calcium also seem to boost their risk of dying. Conversely, study authors found that the lack of abdominal aortic calcium, or AAC, was said to be associated with a low risk of coronary artery disease.
The subsequent news discusses about the occurrence of heart attacks and US stock market decline. A new report from the Duke University Medical Center apparently examines the probable link between instabilities in the stock market and the rate of local heart attacks. After the U.S. underwent an a critical economic catastrophe in the fall of 2008, the Duke experts chalked out a pilot, single site observational study to examine whether the economic crisis and stock market instability impacted cardiovascular (CV) event rates. A few studies have apparently investigated as to how economic trends may affect cardiovascular events. During preliminary evaluation, when the facts were said to be conspired against the daily NASDAQ opening values during the decline duration, it seemingly exposed an inverse link between heart attacks and stock markets.
The third news deals with the association between hypoglycemia and mortality. Scientists report that they appear to have found a link between mild to moderate hypoglycemia and mortality in critically ill patients. Out of the 4,946 patients involved in the study, around 1,109 underwent hypoglycemia and the remaining 3,837 did not, allegedly serving as the nonhypoglycemia control group. The study found that patients with hypoglycemia supposedly nearly had twice the rate of mortality i.e. 36.6 percent against 19.7 percent as compared to those who did not suffer from the condition. Their outcomes appear to propose that any tolerance of mild to moderate hypoglycemia by intensive care clinicians may be undesirable.
The next one brings news from the world of technology. The Ambulight PDT by Ambicare Health was previously uncloaked to essential European practitioners at The European Society for Photodynamic Therapy 10th Annual Congress in Monte-Carlo in Monaco. The device was given CE Mark approval last year, enabling active promotion of it in Europe. Ambulight PDT is said to be the world’s first skin cancer treatment using a small disposable light releasing sticking plaster worn by the patient. This is supposedly used in grouping with a prescribed pharmaceutical, for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer. This plaster seems to deliver PDT treatment straightaway to the skin lesion site. The device offers healthcare providers the option to change patient care by enabling PDT to be more accessible and letting patients to continue with their standard daily routine while undergoing PDT treatment.
The last news of the weekly addresses the connection between alterations in brain and disability in older adults. A research by the Health Center’s Dr. Leslie Wolfson and his team has supposedly illustrated for the first time that particular changes in the brain’s white matter are believed to be extremely predictive of the development of disability in older adults. Dr. Wolfson is of the opinion that mobility could be an imperative element of independence and quality of life for elderly people. Modifications regarding brain white matter are allegedly noted in many MRI brain scans of older adults. Wolfson mentioned that interventions such as aggressive treatment of high blood pressure may help in preventing or slowing down these declines, thereby facilitating older adults to stay independent, energetic and fit for a longer time.
This brings us to the end of our weekly. We will once again meet next week with many more discoveries from the world of health and medicine. Till then, here’s to a happy and healthy weekend.
